1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of energy consumption reduction systems for inns, hotels, motels and similar enterprises providing temporary lodging.
2. Prior Art
With the current increases in costs for energy there has been an even greater increase in the demand to reduce the unproductive comsumption of energy. For the hotel/motel industry a readily apparent and large amount of unproductive energy comsumption occurs when unoccupied rooms are heated or cooled. Heretofore the reduction of such unproductive energy comsumption has been attempted by having each room's temperature control unit (i.e., its air conditioner and/or heater) capable of being controlled from a master console. At the master console an operator aware of a guest's comings and goings manually throws the appropriate switch to turn off the temperature control unit in the guest's room. Such a master console would usually be placed at the front desk of the hotel, motel, or inn (hereinafter referred to simply as the "hotel") and would be operated by the desk clerk. Systems as described above have obvious disadvantages in that they depend on the clerk's observing a guest leaving the hotel, the clerk's remembering which room the guest has been assigned, and the clerk's taking the positive action of throwing the appropriate switch to turn off the temperature control unit in the guest's room. With such a system the likelihood is that for as long as the guest is registered at the hotel, the clerk will not turn off the temperature control unit regardless of the guests's presence of absence from the room. There is also a substantial likelihood that even when the guest has checked out of his room, the clerk will still forget to turn off the temperature control unit. Thus the expensive, unproductive consumption of energy is hardly reduced with such a system.
Another attempt to eliminate the heating or cooling of an unoccupied hotel room consists of serially connecting to the temperature control unit a switch which, if the system operates as intended, could only be closed when the room is occupied and which must be opened by the guest when he leaves the room. Such a system usually employs either a switch which is closed upon the insertion of the room key or a switch which is closed when the dead bolt on the room's door is closed. In theory, when the guest leaves his room he would have to remove his key from the switch and therefore turn off the temperature control system. The dead bolt, of course, would have to be opened in order for the guest to leave the room. This type of system is disadvantageous in that it requires guest intervention which may be annoying. An even greater disadvantage is that such a system is easily circumvented by the guest. For example, a system using a key activated switch is overcome by the guest leaving his key behind when he departs from his room and obtaining a second key from the desk clerk. A system using a switch activated by a dead bolt is overcome by the guest's stuffing paper into the lock of the dead bolt. In either case, the purpose of the system is thwarted and only a small amount of reduction of energy consumption is achieved.